Page 29 of Dragon Awakened

"You absolutely can," Jianyu assures me.

"I will be there to guide you," Rhiannon says. Her eyes have a deep black at their center that speaks to her Shadow Dragon nature.

Some of her confidence infuses me, though I still have my doubts.

Rhiannon continues on. "Then, once the portal spell is established--"

"We bust through it and kick some Air Dragon ass?" Rafe suggests.

Rhiannon ignores him. "Sister Grace, with Amy's assistance, will bind the magic to this." She reaches into the pocket of her dress and pulls out a black chain necklace with a deep purple pendant hanging from its center.

A faint ripple moves through the air. It's nothing like the wave of power I felt when I first encountered the Shadow Bracer, but the tingle rushing through my fingertips is definitely an echo of magic.

"What is that?" Amy asks.

"A minor artifact. One I've been saving for a long time." Rhiannon's gaze connects with mine. "My mother gave it to me when I left the Citadel decades ago." She grasps the pendant and reveals that it's a locket. When she opens it, it's empty, but its capacity to contain magic reverberates through the space.

"But--" I shake my head. "I can't accept that. It's a family heirloom."

"It's what my mother would have wanted me to do with it." Rhiannon smiles sadly before closing the locket once more. "And its sentimental value is all the more reason for you to promise to return it to me after the successful accomplishment of your mission."

My heart squeezes. My own mother can't be here today, but Rhiannon's maternal affection reaches into my chest, warming a place that's been cold for a long, long time.

She wants the locket back, I'm sure. But more, she wants me to come back in one piece.

And I'm determined to do exactly that.

But Sister Grace doesn't seem so sure. "I do not even know that this is possible."

"It is," Rhiannon assures her, breaking our gaze.

"Will you try, babe?" Amy asks Grace, holding her hand.

Grace narrows her eyes at Rhiannon. "I would need to know more about the particulars of the ritual you have in mind."

Rhiannon nods. "Of course."

"And then, once the magic is fixed to the necklace," Malik interrupts. "We will open the locket to produce the portal?"

"Ember will, yes," Rhiannon says, looking back to me again.

Doubt squirms behind my ribs. "But how will I guide it? That hasn't always gone so great for me in the past."

"I don't know about that," Malik says, warmth in his voice. He brings my hand to his lips. "One of your portals delivered you to me."

"So yeah," Rafe grumbles, "big swing and a miss there."

Malik kicks his shin without missing a beat. "What do you think?" he asks me.

"I'm not sure..."

Rhiannon smiles encouragingly. "Without having to maintain the spell, I believe that you will be able to direct it where you want to go."

She has a point.

And in the end, erratic as it may be, my magic has always been led by my heart. So if I'm trying to lead it to my last mate?

I think I've got a decent shot.

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